A cutting tool is generally formed with at least one cutting edge, and is adapted for the removal of material from a workpiece by bringing the cutting edge into contact with the workpiece and displacing the cutting edge with respect to the workpiece either by displacing the cutting tool with respect to the workpiece or vise versa.
The cutting edges of cutting tools wear rapidly when used for cutting operations, particularly when cutting hard materials such as metal, and therefore they must be frequently replaced or re-sharpened. In many types of cutting tools, such as tool adapted for milling/drilling/turning machines, the cutting tool may comprise a plurality of cutting inserts, each being formed with at least one cutting edge, the inserts being fixed within seats of a cutting tool holder to form a cutting tool.
In a conventional cutting tool, the cutting insert is attached within the seat of the cutting tool by a fastener passing through a bore in the cutting insert into the bottom of the seat of the cutting tool. Indexing the cutting insert to enable the use of another cutting edge requires the removal of the fastener, the reorientation of the cutting insert, and the reattachment of the cutting insert within the seat of the cutting tool by the fastener. Each of these operations involves time and labor, and since cutting tools generally include a plurality of such cutting inserts, the time and labor costs involved in indexing the cutting inserts in a cutting tool are considerable.
In order to overcome technical problems, among which is the one presented above, alternative methods of mounting the cutting inserts onto the cutting tool holder have been devised as disclosed in WO2008/149371 and U.S. Ser. No. 12/314,428 to the applicant.